I never said it was the _whole_ story. It's a factor. An overlooked one, IMHO.
Some people think planes kill more people than cars even though the stats says the opposite. Heck, there is a famous head of state who doesn't believe in facts and numbers (and intel reports for that matter). At. All. In other words, it's not because numbers say one thing that you won't be convinced of the opposite.
I've been mauled by a German Shepard when I was ten. I'm still alive, but I had difficulties doing my homework for the best of six months. I can relate. A quick search for the term "dog as a weapon" shows a high number of recent cases where dogs are purposelessly trained as weapons. There are two sides to every issue.
Yeah, but there aren't. Facts are facts. Cops are shooting dogs who pose no imminent threat to them. The cops are armed. If a dog was running at a cop, snarling, that'd be one thing. We're talking about a whole lot of instances in which cops shoot dogs that are just standing in their own yards, or in their own homes, or on their own doorsteps, often with their humans standing right there, with the dogs making no aggressive movements whatsoever. There's no excuse for that shit.
Training is key. Sure. Experience is usually better, although it's a shitty teacher in this context. It gives the test first and the lesson comes afterwards, and when it comes to dealing with potentially violent people not all encounters can be survived for the lesson to get in.
-cb
The problem is seeing every person, dog, everything, as a potential threat -- and not just a potential threat, but an imminent threat to life. That's not reasonable; it's nuts.
I don't need or want police to have situation-by-situation training. First of all, in a multicultural society like ours, it's impossible to account for every such situation. Secondly, such training seems to come with expectations outside law enforcement, like attempting to ascertain that someone is schizophrenic, or in a bipolar episode. We don't even expect such instant diagnoses of psychological professionals.
Besides, some signals are pretty close to universal. Extending and open palm and moving the hand toward the other person means stop or back up. Same open palm aimed and gestured toward the ground is almost universally understood as "Get down."
I'd MUCH prefer a training program that includes de-escalation and simple customer service. I know that sounds odd, but customer service (among other things) is the practice of listening, paying attention to get to the root of a problem.
Officers right now are trained to assert authority, first, second, third, and maybe only.
Come into unknown situations alert and wary, but also with some concern for what you're approaching. A person.
I'm not talking about every possible situation; I'm talking about spending a half hour training people whose job it is to interact with the public that a portion of that public will respond in a particular way -- here it is. Dealing with EDPs does get training in big departments, and it's not about cops diagnosing people, but recognizing behaviours that indicate there is a mental illness at issue, as opposed to drug use, or pure aggression, or whatever. That, again, is something cops deal with.
I know someone told me a story a cop he knows told him, when said cop was guarding a sensitive area (like the UN), and had someone walk up out of the blue and start talking about his gun. There are almost no carry permits in my area; it is highly unusual for a civilian to be walking around with a legal weapon. The cop was instantly on guard, but something seemed off, so he let the guy keep talking. The guy explained he'd brought the gun, which his grandfather left him, to show to some politician. This was even more concerning, but the cop felt the guy was calm and talking, so he kept conversing with him. It eventually became clear the guy was 'round the bend, started talking about being sent by voices, etc., and the cop took a chance and asked to see the gun. Guy calmly handed it to him. Cop calmly called for an ambulance to take the guy for a psych evaluation. Good cop, well-trained and able to calmly assess. He was right next to the guy and making choices about the guy's behaviour and his own, and had he been trigger-happy, it could have gone very differently. Cops need training to deal with stuff they're going to come into contact with -- not every language and possible situation in the universe, but yeah, as many as possible. This is what you do if you think there's a hostage-taking, this is what you do in a domestic case, this is how you deal with X, Y, Z, this is some Spanish (or Chinese or whatever, depending on area), that you'll probably need, this is some ASL, because some people are deaf... Training.
while i agree that yes, THIS particular incidence is tragic.
but then again...no one is seeing or helping to solve the ROOT of the problem.
by now, cops are prolly so scared that now they shoot first and then realize after.
but then again, it's human nature to "defend" yourself (whether it be right or wrong) in any situation (whether hostile or calm).
People who cannot differentiate between those situations and act accordingly should not be cops, or armed.
sure you might say now, because you are in a very removed location from incidences like this...and say these things that are posted here in this thread.
but if you were in the situation, it's fight or flight....and as a cop who KNOWS how to use a gun/defend himself...he's gonna FIGHT. and even you who know some basic defense maneuvers....are guaranteed to attack back against someone who makes a "threatening" gesture to you.
this whole world is on edge. there's no way to tell anymore between the person that looks like safety, but then turns on you or the person that looks dangerous, but is the one that protects you.
as long as there are people out there commiting crimes of ANY nature....this problem will never end.
As long as people commit crimes of any kind, cops will be unable to control themselves and just shoot at people, because they're on edge? Those are BAD COPS who don't need to be walking around with weapons or badges. Good cops are taught the law, their jobs (to protect and serve, not defend themselves from anyone they see), how to deal with the public so NO ONE gets hurt...
That's the goal of hostage negotiators -- everyone out alive. Not just hostages, everyone. They'll spend hours, days, working to make that happen. They're cops who know their job. It's not a mystery.
